College News
Engle to Chair Natural Resources Ecology and Management
David Engle, Regents professor in rangeland ecology and management at Oklahoma State University, has been hired as the new chair of the Department of Natural Resources Ecology and Management. Engle joined Oklahoma State in 1983 as an associate professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences. He earned a doctorate in range science in 1978 from Colorado State University. Engle begins a five-year term as NREM chair on Aug. 15. He takes over for Joe Colletti who was named interim when Mike Kelly resigned as chair in August 2004.
Farewell Reception for Dean Woteki on July 29
A farewell reception for Dean Woteki will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. July 29, in the Memorial Union's Campanile Room. A brief program will begin at 3:30 p.m.
Contributions to New Scholarship Will Honor Dean Woteki
For faculty, staff and others who wish to honor Dean Woteki and her accomplishments for the College, contributions may be made to a newly established scholarship -- The Dean of Agriculture's Multicultural Scholarship for Undergraduate Students. Checks should be payable to the ISU Foundation and sent to the Foundation's office, 2505 Elwood Drive, Ames, or dropped off at the College's Development Office, 310 Curtiss.
Summit's Major Issues Available on the Web
On July 6-8, nearly 250 Iowans and Midwesterners participated in the Agricultural Policy Summit at Iowa State. ISU's College of Agriculture organized the Summit to solicit input on what should be - or could be - included in the 2007 Farm Bill. Several common themes emerged, including; the new Farm Bill has the potential to be watershed legislation for farmers and rural communities, providing a strong stimulus for growth locally and globally; bold new policy was needed to capture the imagination not only of those living on farms and in rural communities, but also in urban and suburban areas; and a policy that drives innovation, entrepreneurship and growth opportunities would be key for moving agriculture and rural communities forward. A preliminary summary of major issues that surfaced during the Summit is available online.
Flora Elected Foundation Board Chair
Cornelia Flora, director of the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, was elected chair of the board of the Northwest Area Foundation at its annual meeting July 15. Flora, sociology, has been a member of the board since 1998 and has been elected to a one-year term as chair. She held the position of vice chair from 2002-2005. The Foundation strives to reduce poverty in the rural communities of a region including Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon.
Kanwar to be Honored by ASAE
Ramesh Kanwar, chair of the agricultural and biosystems engineering department, will be named a fellow of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE), Tuesday, July 19 at its meeting in Tampa. Kanwar, a 23-year ASAE member, is being recognized for his work on soil and water engineering, and international water management. He has worked in more than 30 countries and with international committees such as the World Bank, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organizations and the European Union.
ABE Faculty Presented Best Paper Award
Steve Mickelson and Tom Brumm, faculty members in the agricultural and biosystems engineering department, received the 2005 Best Paper Award from the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Division of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). They collaborated on a peer-reviewed proceedings paper, "Measuring the Success of Learning Communities," that was presented at the ASEE annual meeting in Portland, Ore. in June. This paper presented the results of the Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering Learning Community.
Alum to Head Agricultural Engineering Group
Alumnus Charles Sukup has been elected president of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE) for 2006-2007. He will take the office of president-elect at the organization's annual meeting starting Saturday, July 16. Sukup is president of Sukup Manufacturing Co. in Sheffield, a manufacturer of grain handling and storage equipment. The 26-year ASAE member earned bachelor's and master's degree in agricultural engineering, in 1976 and 1982.
ISU Scientists Study Ways to Improve Poultry Air Quality
Hongwei Xin, professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, is a national leader in the search for answers to questions about poultry production air quality. "The poultry industry realizes the importance of air quality and emission issues and the need to proactively address them," Xin said.
Soybean Rust Concerns may be Overstated
Recent tropical storms along with Hurricane Dennis are unlikely to have moved Asian soybean rust spores any closer to Iowa, says Alison Robertson, Iowa State extension plant pathologist.
Demonstration Garden Field Days Begin July 25
Iowa State's Demonstration Garden Field Days offer a chance to see a variety of flowers and plants, talk to experts about gardening and taste what is growing. There will be nine field days beginning July 25.
New Aquaculture Specialist Named
Rich Clayton is the new ISU Extension aquaculture specialist. His appointment is split equally between extension and the ISU research farms.
New Tools for Beginning Farmers
ISU Extension's Value Added Agriculture Program has developed two new resources to help beginning farmers - an information toolkit and a mentoring program that involves established farmers.
Deadlines and Reminders
July 18-22: Sausage and Processed Meats Short Course, Meat Lab, more: http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/processedmeats/home.html
July 25-29: Seed Corn Conditioning Workshop, Seed Science Center, more: http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/seed.htm
Aug. 1: Deadline for Leopold Center pre-proposals in ecology, policy and marketing and food systems, 5 p.m.
Communications Kiosk
Avoid Impact when you Mean Influence
"The only thing that can be impacted is a wisdom tooth," according to Jack Lynch's grammar guide. "Impact should remain a noun; a proposal can have an impact, but cannot impact anything without degenerating into jargon," Lynch said. In the 15th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style you will find a warning to "Resist using this word as a verb unless in a physical context. Try affect or influence instead. Besides being hyperbolic, impact is widely regarded as a solecism." Finally, once you let yourself misuse impact you may find that you've totally lost your bearings, just as this fellow did while talking with a writer from the Cheese Reporter. When discussing the impact of the "Got Milk" advertising campaign a Dairy Management Inc. executive said, "We think we can be impactful at these dollar levels." Even a dentist wouldn't be able to figure that one out. (Karen Paulus, ACE Grammar Hint, March 28)
Infograzing
Farm Bill Forums Set for Midwest
Three more U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Bill Forums have been scheduled this month and next in the Midwest. They will be noon to 3 p.m. July 26 at the North Dakota State Fair - Minot; 4 to 7 p.m. Aug. 3 at the Minnesota Farm Fest, Redwood County; and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 4 at the Wisconsin State Fair, West Allis. The public also is welcome to submit comments through the USDA Farm Bill Forums website at: http://www.usda.gov/farmbill.
External Voices
Chicago High School Prepares Leaders in Agriculture
" . . . Agriculture today is far more than farming and [Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, CHSAS] is at the cutting edge of training its students to be leaders in the agricultural industry. I know that well, as recently I was fortunate to be the speaker at the graduation for the class of 2005 from CHSAS .... Every one of the 116 students in the class is a member of the FFA ..., and of those 116 students, 70 are African-American. ...CHSAS was among the first urban agricultural high schools in the country. Today its graduates are sought out by the finest agricultural programs in the country: Cornell, University of Indiana, Southern Illinois University, Illinois State University and Iowa State, to name just a few. The agricultural leaders of the future will come from CHSAS and will go into farming as well as those 300 careers that relate to agriculture."
--Marc Schulman, president, The Eli's Cheesecake Co., and co-chair of the Business Advisory Council for CHSAS (Chicago Tribune commentary June 30)
Next issue: July 25
Ag Online
Editor: Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-5616
Web site: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/
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